The guy who was overlooked because of his size — Miami University senior Andy Miele — sure has come a long way in the last five or six years.
Miele, who recently completed his senior season, is one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award given annually to the top player in college hockey. The winner will be announced Friday at the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. The announcement will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
“It’s exciting,” Miele said. “I never really thought I’d have an opportunity to win the Hobey. Unfortunately, my teammates won’t be there with me for the Frozen Four. But it’s an exciting time. My friends and family are excited for me, too. We’ll see what happens.”
The 5-foot-8, 175-pound native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, certainly has built a strong case.
Miele, 22, leads the nation in scoring with 71 points (24 goals and 47 assists). He was named Central Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year, first-team All-CCHA and CCHA tournament MVP, helping the RedHawks to their first Mason Cup in school history. Miele’s 71 points are the most in college hockey since Colorado College’s Peter Segna totaled 82 in 2002-03.
Miele, an assistant captain for the RedHawks, won the CCHA scoring title with 56 points in league games, the most since 1991-92. His 40 assists in league play were more than anyone else had points, the first time in CCHA history that has happened.
“Obviously, his numbers on the ice speak for themselves in terms of what kind of player he is,” Miami teammate and roommate Trent Vogelhuber said. “He’s a great kid off the ice. He’s a captain for a reason.
“His No. 1 concern is the team, making sure that everyone is on the same page. Everything that he does is for the good of the team. He’s unselfish in that way and gets rewarded for it on the ice.”
Early days
Miele wasn’t always so comfortable on the ice.
Like most college hockey players, he hit the ice at a young age. He remembers first learning how to skate at 4 years old in his native Michigan and playing on his first team as a 5 or 6 year old when his family briefly moved to New Jersey.
Initially, hockey wasn’t much fun.
Andy’s parents, Jim and Sue, remember those early days all too well. They said Andy, like a lot of young hockey players, struggled at first.
“He wanted to try to skate, but it was mostly skate, skate, fall,” Sue Miele recalled. “Sometimes it was a struggle, but he was so young. There were times when I’d meet my husband (Jim) at the rink to finish getting Andy dressed. We’d have to chase him down and pin him down to get his equipment on. I’d think, is this really worth it?
“But Andy turned into the kid who would never, ever miss a practice. All the kids love the game, but Andy was different. If there was homecoming or prom, or whatever it was, it was always practice first.”
From juniors to MU
Miele played high school hockey as a freshman at Grosse Point North. The next two seasons, he played AAA hockey with HoneyBaked Ham and Little Caesars, respectively, before leaving for the USHL, the top junior league in the country, as a senior.
Miele wasn’t drafted by a USHL team, but tried out and made the squad in Cedar Rapids. In 2½ seasons with Cedar Rapids and Chicago, Miele amassed 125 points (60 goals, 65 assists) in 139 games.
Ignored by the two big programs — Michigan and Michigan State — in his backyard, Miele chose Miami over several other schools, including Bowling Green, Ferris State, Brown and Colorado College.
Miele joined the RedHawks midway through the 2007-08 season in January. He was supposed to be on campus in August with the rest of the freshman class, but had to wait until he was cleared academically by the NCAA.
He made quite a first impression with the RedHawks.
Miele scored in his first game, on his first shift, in a 5-0 RedHawks win over Lake Superior State. Miami coach Enrico Blasi had no problem inserting such a prolific offensive player into the lineup of the second-ranked team in the nation.
“He was still leading the USHL in scoring in March, two months after he came here,” Blasi said. “We knew he would fit. He was another piece of the puzzle. For him to score in his first game and first shift in college hockey was a sign of things to come.”
Miele played in 18 games as a freshman and totaled 14 points. He grew progressively better the next two seasons with 30 and 44 points, respectively, before taking a huge step this season.
Miele had a point in 33 of 39 games this season, including 22 multipoint games. He tied a school record with a 17-game point streak from Jan. 8 to March 19.
“Obviously, I matured a lot,” Miele said. “You come in as a freshman, and you’re at the bottom of the totem pole. Now as a senior, you’re a leader. I think I’ve become a better hockey player, but also a better student and better person away from the ice.”
‘A great kid’
Miele and several of his teammates have been involved with the community off the ice.
Miele reached out to Greg Elam, the President of the Board for One Way Farm Children’s Home in Fairfield, about helping with the kids there.
Miele and teammate Carter Camper recruited some of their teammates to hang out with a group of kids at a Miami basketball game and took them into the locker room to meet the team afterward.
“It was all Andy’s idea. He really took the leadership role,” Elam said.
“He’s a great kid,” Elam said of Miele, “and Carter is just as good. They both really connected with kids.”
Said Blasi of Miele, “He’s one of the guys we coach that has a big heart. He’s a caring person. ... He’s always texting you to see how you’re doing. He’s got a heart bigger than this building (Steve Cady Arena), and he plays that way.”
Hobey, future
The Hobey Baker talk has followed Miele and Camper for most of the season. They were 1-2 in the nation in scoring for most of the season. Camper was one of 10 players up for the Hobey before the list was trimmed to three last week.
In person or via Twitter, Miele’s teammates have kept him grounded, often calling him “Hobey” Miele or Andy “Baker,” or riding him for his love of pizza, particularly his hometown Little Caesars, or his car, a late-model Ford Tempo.
“Obviously, they give me a hard time,” he said, “but they support me 100 percent.”
While the Hobey is on his mind, Miele also is in the midst of figuring out his future on the ice.
He spent much of this week in California with his agent, Scott Norton, meeting with NHL teams. Because he wasn’t drafted, Miele was free to sign with any of them. He signed an entry-level contract Saturday with the Coyotes. Terms were not disclosed.
Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists
Andy Miele, Miami: The senior forward leads the country with 71 points, which is 11 more than runner-up and fellow finalist Matt Frattin. Miele ended the season with 24 goals and 47 assists for the RedHawks.
Cam Atkinson, Boston College: The junior forward led the defending national champions in scoring for the second year in a row, tallying 52 points (31 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games. He already has signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Matt Frattin, North Dakota: The senior forward was suspended by his team for the first half of last season, but he came back and led the Fighting Sioux to the Frozen Four with a nation-leading 36 goals. He also has 24 assists for 60 points.
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